YouTube Goes Wide — YouTube has apparently changed all videos on its site to play in widescreen format. Because most videos on the site were originally uploaded in a ratio closer to 4:3 (the standard size used on non-HD televisions), most videos are playing with horizontal black bars on the side.

Meet Rael Dornfest — Rael Dornfest is a famously talented engineer, author, and entrepreneur. Before founding Values of n, Rael served as Chief Technology Officer at O'Reilly Media and is known for his pioneering work on RSS as well being the series editor of O'Reilly's celebrated Hacks books.

Google cutting contractor workforce — Google is in the process of paring back a contractor workforce that numbers about 10,000, the company confirmed Monday. The news, though, isn't as fresh as it might appear at first blush. — The contractor cut story made the rounds Monday …

Amazon Kindle 2 Slated For “Early Q1″ — Update on the Kindle 2: It was scheduled to be released in October in time for this holiday season, but Bezos himself reportedly pulled the plug for last minute changes to the software. Our sources now say it's tentatively scheduled to go on sale in “early next quarter.”

Announcing LinkedIn's New Search Platform — I am writing today to announce the full release of LinkedIn's new search platform to over 31 million LinkedIn users. — The new search platform at LinkedIn is redefining the way professionals go about finding talent, business partners, customers or a former colleague.

Web 2.0 Music Pioneer iLike Looking for Buyers — iLike, the Web start-up that made a name for itself by becoming Facebook's de facto music service, is looking for a buyer, according to multiple sources. I'm told that iLike is actively soliciting a list of buyers that include RealNetworks and Ticketmaster …

Ray Ozzie Wants to Push Microsoft Back Into Startup Mode — The keynote speaker at this past summer's TechReady conference—a gathering of 6,000 or so Microsoft engineers from around the world—was the company's chief software architect, Ray Ozzie. This was not a routine appearance.

Negotiations to put Beatles on iTunes stalled — Paul McCartney says negotiations to put Beatles songs on iTunes have stalled — LONDON (AP) — Paul McCartney said Monday negotiations on a long-awaited deal to make the Beatles' catalog available on the online music service iTunes have stalled.

Is the End Near for Display Ads? — As ad budgets shrink, buyers and publishers face growing pressure to prove value of banners — NEW YORK Digital media buyers have been trying to kill the banner ad for years. Now, it appears, the recession might just finish the job for them.

Telco Startup Raises $100M for Northeast Buildout — Pocket Communications Northeast, a subsidiary of San Antonio-based cellular operator Pocket Communications, has raised a first round of $100 million to build out a five-city CDMA network in the Northeast that will join an existing network and customer base in South Texas.

Compulsive gamers ‘not addicts’ — Ninety per cent of the young people who seek treatment for compulsive computer gaming are not addicted. — So says Keith Bakker the founder and head of Europe's first and only clinic to treat gaming addicts. — The Smith & Jones Centre in Amsterdam …

Treating URL Protocol Schemes as Cruft — One of the more visible changes in last week's iPhone OS 2.2 update is a new toolbar in Safari. Here's the previous toolbar from Safari in iPhone OS 2.1: — It now looks like this: — The new toolbar looks much more like an iPhone-sized version …

Shaq on Twitter — And thus ends the first full week of Twittering by Shaquille O'Neal. The real Shaquille O'Neal. The NY Times has the details. Apparently Shaq was spurred into tweeting by an imposter posing as him: … Used to dashing off one-liners to reporters during pre …

Why Apple Got Sued in Texas — When a Los Angeles man sued Apple for patent infringement Monday he filed the case in East Texas, not California. As many lawyers will tell you, the U.S. Distinct Court for the Eastern District of Texas has become a magnet for technology and other patent cases over the years.

Kyte gets Google AdSense, fresh new mobile sites — On Monday night video-broadcasting platform Kyte is launching several new ways to make money with its service. Included are two new ad servers from AdTech Helios IQ and Lightningcast, as well as a new option to pick up Google AdSense …

FanSnap Adds $5.5 Million — FanSnap, a Palo Alto, Calif..-based live event ticket search engine, has raised $5.5 million in second-round funding led by return backer General Catalyst Partners. The company is currently in beta, and is run by Mike Janes, former chief marketing officer of StubHub.

New leaked images of upcoming Nokia E75 — For those of you awaiting this QWERTY-slider from Nokia, new pics of the E75 has been spotted out in the wild and leaked pics are now online. There is a decent 2.4″ screen which looks to cramp up the alphanumeric keypad a bit but a quick slide reveals …

Web Suicide Viewed Live and Reaction Spur a Debate — For a 19-year-old community college student in Pembroke Pines, Fla., the message boards on BodyBuilding.com were a place to post messages, at least 2,300 of them, including more than one about his suicidal impulses.

TV, Friends and Facebook — Full-length television is coming to Facebook, via a new generation of applications. Entire shows such as Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, and The Simpsons and more will be available through a wide range of TVLoop “Addicted to...” applications and Mesmo TV.

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